let's bring in our pentagon correspondent, chris lawrence. they made it official today, chris. >> yeah, exactly, wolf. and you can pretty much forget about privacy issues, where troops sleep or go to the bathroom. sources tell me, the biggest obstacles to putting women in artillery, armor, and infantry positions are strength and stamina. with a stroke of his pen, defense secretary leon panetta altered the look of the american sword. >> not everyone is going to be able to be a combat soldier. but everyone is entitled to a chance. >> reporter: panetta officially opened well over 200,000 combat jobs to women. now the question is, can they physically qualify? >> i think that it's already been proven. >> reporter: sergeant jennifer hunt was attached to an infantry battalion in afghanistan. she still remembers the six-mile runs in full gear. >> i just found that physically taxing to have that pack on my back, but i still was able to, you know, make the requirement of, you know, of going that six miles. >> a number of nato countries permit women in